


how to ruin evie grimhilde's life (and also steal her heart)

by orphan_account



Category: Descendants (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Love Potion/Spell, Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-21
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-11-09 14:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11106039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Evie just wants to be senior class president and get married to Ben. The universe has other plans.





	1. the transfer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> atm i'm not sure if i'm gonna do side jaylos or side benlos but one or both of those will happen and when it does i'll tag that too. the rating will also probably go up, idk for sure yet but i think there'll eventually be some smut?? we will see.
> 
> it starts off w some evie/ben but that shit dissolves fast. also there's lot of evie and audrey being best friends because they're the brotp we all deserve. also the soulmate stuff doesn't rly come into play until a bit later but i try to establish it in this chapter.
> 
> oh, and, yes, i do know that technically grimhilde is evie's mom's first name but. it fits.

Arm linked in King Ben's, Evie tries to keep herself from fidgeting with the sleeve of her jacket. The anxiety brewing in her stomach is overwhelming but the voice of her mother telling her for the millionth time how unladylike her nervousness is and how she'll never marry a Prince if she keeps this up is even worse. Especially since her mother has wanted her to marry Ben since it was announced he would become King at the end of sophomore year. That had been why she even agreed to this... this ridiculous _project_.

 

The very project Evie finds herself once more wishing she'd declined so she could be unpacking in her room with Audrey and laughing about how silly it was that Ben thought it was a good idea to bring in yet another villain's kid to Auradon Prep. It's definitely too late now though, and her mother would never let her hear the end of it.

 

Fully accepting her fate as the limo pulls up, Evie forces her mouth into a bright smile, turns to Ben, and asks, "do you think she'll like me?"

 

Before Ben can answer, the door to the limo is open and a purple haired girl dressed in leather is stepping out. In a word, she's... _different_. Unique, maybe. Evie thinks that, with a new haircut and wardrobe, maybe a little makeup, she would blend right in in Auradon. She is gorgeous. Just rough around the edges.

 

The first words out of her mouth are mocking and coated in venom, "so you're Mr. and Mrs. Let's Give Villains A Chance, I take it."

 

She's a little rougher than Evie had hoped.

 

"We're not betrothed yet, but, yeah. I'm your new roommate, Evie," the taller girl forces a smile, extending her free hand.

 

Said free hand is stared at disdainfully for a second but not shook. " _Princess_ Evie, I'm sure. The Queen's kid, right?" There's something amused to her voice now (Evie can't help but panic, wondering if she knows the truth about Snow White and her mother), but still far from pleased, "and you must be King Benjamin, His _Majesty_." Green eyes turn to ice as they set on Ben. If this girl doesn't like Evie, she despises Ben.

 

Ben, for his part, takes it well. Very kingly, really. He smiles diplomatically and says, "you can just call me Ben. There's no need for formal titles, Mal."

 

Evie thinks she should swoon her because Ben is so charming, so she does. It makes Mal scoff loudly and say, "right, right." The words are drawn out almost painfully, painted neatly with sarcasm and disgust. "So, did you decide to have the princess here room with me because you needed your girlfriend to keep tabs on me? Don't trust the daughter of the baddest of the bad, right?"

 

A nervous laugh. Ben pulls his arm out of Evie's hold (Mal cocks an eyebrow at this), says, "no, not at all. I asked Evie if she would be willing to because she's a model student and the kindest person I know. She'll be too busy campaigning for class president again to keep tabs on you anyway so you don't have to worry about that."

 

Her hip juts out, like she's analyzing Ben's words. Looking for a lie, most likely. Whether or not she finds one is hard to tell with her poker face on. "Well then, let's get going, _roomie_ , or does His Royal Majesty wanna show me the bathrooms first?" she arches a brow, tongue wetting her lips and eyes sharper than ever.

 

In typical him fashion, Ben smiles once more and simply goes along with Mal's sarcasm. He's a little too eager to give her the tour, even with Evie's assistance.

 

The sight of both Mal talking to Ben (and herself) like that and Ben letting her makes Evie's eye almost twitch. This girl, who agreed to come to Auradon, is so suspicious of them and their motives, and so _irritatingly_ sarcastic that Evie thinks she might smack her.

 

She doesn't though. Because that would be un-princess-like and un-lady-like and un-everything-her-mother-wants-her-to-be-like. Plus she's above violence. And anyway, maybe Mal just needs to warm up to her first. Or maybe Mal will keep her quips to herself if Evie leaves her alone the second Ben is gone.

 

Once the tour is over and Ben bids them goodbye (without a kiss for Evie but he's always been shy about PDA so she says nothing), Evie expects Mal to want nothing but silence. She's right, until they get into their now shared room at least.

 

"Listen up, Princess," Mal starts, voice lower than before and her hands firmly on her hips, "don't think that I believe that bullshit about you not keeping tabs on me for a second. I get it, your saint of a mother wants you to marry a prince, Ben's not horrible to look at, but you stay out of my way, and I stay out of yours. Deal?"

 

It would be intimidating if not for the fact that with the added height from her heels, Evie has at least five inches on the girl. Well, it still kind of is if for no reason other than the way Mal's eyes _glow_. Still, Evie won't let herself be intimidated by Mal. That's not how things work in Auradon and she will be damned if she lets Mal believe that being Maleficent's kid gives her any kind of status here - that the possibility that she knows the truth about Evie's step sister means she can just boss her around or use her royal status against her.

 

Defiantly, Evie strides right past the shorter girl and sits down neatly on her bed, to use her laptop.

 

"Believe it or not, you don't know anything about me or my mamì or Ben. And more importantly," she logs back on, making her sure her typing is emphasized by the pause, "the only thing about you that scares me is your split ends."

 

For a moment, Mal does nothing but size Evie up. And then, once she's decided how she feels about Evie and what she said, Mal chuckles. It's low and almost throaty sounding which catches Evie off guard because she hadn't expected something like that to come out of the Fae. " _Nasty_ , you really are your mother's daughter, aren't you, E?"

 

E. This girl she's known all of thirty three (beyond crappy) minutes is calling her E, like they're friends. Worse, she's calling her E while _insulting_ her mother.

 

Glowering, Evie grinds out in the most un-lady-like way, "what did I just say about my mother?"

 

"A total lie. We both know what she did, and we both know you belong on the Isle just as much as I do, but, hey, keep out of my way and I won't say anything at all to Benny Boo," she grins wickedly, like the dragon Evie is sure that she is.

 

Determined not to give her any more attention, Evie huffs irritably and turns back to her laptop. She doesn't say another word to Mal for the rest of the day. Won't give the girl the satisfaction. (Doesn't have the comeback for it, either.)

 

 

That night, Evie sits herself down in Audrey (and now Jordan's) room, arms crossed and a child-like pout on her face as she tells Audrey just how awful Mal is while Jordan ignores them both from the comfort of her lamp. Audrey sits behind her, braiding her hair neatly and gasping indignantly and adding comments like "what a _witch_!" in all the right places as Evie rants.

 

When she's done ranting, Audrey finishes braiding (and re-braiding) the other girl's hair. A beat. Dark eyes try to make out the chicken scratch notes being written by Evie's soulmate and thus appearing on Evie's arm. Then, moving to Evie's side, Audrey rests her head on the other girl's shoulder. Her hand finds Evie's quickly, thumb taking to stroking the back of the girl's palm.

 

Evie sighs into the gesture, nuzzling against Audrey.

 

"Do you want my advice, Eves?" Audrey asks in that voice that makes it clear she has at least eight possible solutions for this problem and that if Evie declines, she will gladly watch the dark haired girl struggle with this for the rest of the year. Presumably with popcorn.

 

A groan. She supposes she has to ask. "Fine," she sighs.

 

Audrey giggles softly at that. "Try being nice to her. Don't you remember how Jay and Carlos took Chad's... less than kind welcome last year?" Evie hums grumpily. She's always hated being wrong. "Uhuh, and do you remember how they took Ben being all kingly?" Another hum of acknowledgement. "And what happened when Lonnie treated them like _people_ , who've been through some rough things?"

 

Evie practically whines at this.

 

" _Elvira_ ," Audrey says, soft but stern.

 

Her head lifts from its place on top of Audrey's, admits, "they started opening up and adjusting..."

 

Grinning, she squeezes Evie's hand. "That's my girl," she whispers, sitting up straight again, "you can stay here a little longer though. Because I don't totally hate you."

 

"Thank you," Evie mumbles before burying her head in Audrey's lap, "love you too, A." She thinks she'd rather stay put exactly like this than go and face Mal again. Really, Evie would rather stay put with Audrey than do anything. Audrey is her rock, even if the pair had gotten off to a slightly rocky start. Plus Audrey's lap is kind of really comfortable.

 

The two sit there until ten, at which point Jordan comes out of her lamp to tell them to stop being gross and affectionate which Evie has long since learned is Jordan for "get the fuck out of here, I'm tired of you." But, like, in the nicest way possible. For Jordan, at least. (Which, she supposes, isn't saying all that much.)

 

Just to spite the genie, Evie is sure to give Audrey the tightest hug she can with an extra sappy completely un-them goodbye. She tops it off by calling Audrey her princesa which is so disgustingly cute that Jordan mimes gagging. It leaves her with a grin on her face until she arrives at the door of her dorm and remembers just who she's rooming with now.

 

Right. Of course. Ben's newest _project_. How could she ever forget?

 

Mal, surprisingly enough, is fast asleep. Or at least, she's under her blankets pretending to sleep so Evie will leave her alone. Which exactly is happening Evie isn't sure but she's willing to bet that it's the latter and that Mal is up to something or another that she doesn't want the other girl knowing about. Whatever, she supposes as she removes her makeup in the bathroom. She can always apologize to Mal in the morning, over breakfast or something.

 

That sounds like a good enough plan. The islander looks about as underfed as Carlos had when he'd arrived. If Mal is anything like Carlos (Evie kind of doubts it because Carlos is just so sweet, but she digresses), food will for sure be the way to win her over.

 

 

Over breakfast (which Evie is kind enough to bring up to their room to spare Mal the trip to the cafeteria), Evie finds out that food is not at _all_ the way to win Mal over. It starts when she wakes Mal up with a sweet albeit forced smile and a tray of pancakes and scrambled eggs.

 

And then there's the greeting that's probably a bit too nice. In hindsight, she should have known they weren't yet at the point of pet names. And that, being from the isle, Mal wouldn't take well to being called _sunshine_. She definitely did not expect for Mal to growl at her though.

 

Maybe she's just not a morning person. Or she hates Evie. Both are very, very plausible.

 

Still, Evie doesn't think she really deserved to have the tray knocked out of her hands. And then to have Mal shrug and, in complete monotone, say, "whoops" before walking out the door. As _if_ Evie believes she's going to class early.

 

Audrey will definitely be hearing about this. And then Ben. _Definitely_ Ben. Maybe he'll even get rid of Mal and she can go back to rooming with Audrey and balance can be restored to her universe. The thought of Mal away from her does sound really, really appealing. But maybe not totally away because, after meeting Jay and Carlos, the thought of Mal back on the Isle leaves a sinking feeling in the bottom of her stomach.

 

Briefly, she thinks that maybe that's why Mal comes off so... abrasively. Then she remembers that she has to clean up the mess of syrup coated pancakes and eggs on the bedroom floor and decides that whatever might have happened to Mal, she's still a bitch. And, anyway, if Evie and Carlos could have had the mothers they have and come out not total bitches, Mal really doesn't have an excuse.

 

She doesn't see the demon-spawn of a girl again until lunch. It's only then that she realizes just how tired she looks. There are bags under her eyes and her skin looks even paler and more washed out than Evie thinks is normal, even for someone as _white_ as Mal. Vain as ever, Evie can't help but smile at the sight of Mal looking so awful. She catches Mal's eye to do so and everything, goodness be damned.

 

(She's sure Audrey will understand. After all, she did try. For about ten minutes.)

 

Not missing a beat, Mal sneers back. It's almost threatening, except Mal can't lay a hand on Evie without getting sent back and they both know it so it's not quite.

 

Carlos doesn't miss the interaction. He tugs at Evie's sleeve, eyebrows knit together. "Eves, what's up with the cold war? Mal is _bad news,_ " he whispers. She doesn't miss the urgency and the anxiety in his voice, but, really, she doesn't get why she should be so afraid of Mal. Just because her mom is the baddest villain of them all doesn't mean Mal deserves to be feared.

 

"Her wardrobe is bad news, she's just annoying," Evie scoffs back, "don't worry so much, Carlos. She wouldn't even try to hex my hair, not if she wants to stay, at least." And she does. Of course she does, she wouldn't have agreed to come if she didn't want to be here.

 

Distress worsens at this, says, "E... I know you think she won't but - but Mal isn't like me and Jay..." Whoever Mal is like, Carlos doesn't find the words to tell Evie.

 

Not before Lonnie joins them and changes the topic to how much she hates what the hairdresser did to her hair and Evie is listing off the things she could do to fix it because, really, it doesn't look good at all. It looks just bad enough to keep her distracted from how bad Mal looks right now. In fact, Mal doesn't cross her mind for the rest of lunch. A much welcomed change of pace.

 

 

She wakes up and her hair is blue. She wakes up, and her hair is _blue_. As in, not black, not natural, and not something she wants. More importantly, something definitely magical and extremely _Mal_. (Though, once she's done screaming in horror at the sight, she does have to admit that the color compliments her skin tone.)

 

"Morning, Princess, nice hair," the other girl yawns, already dressed. As if she can talk about hair, with those split ends and that obscene purple color.

 

Evie storms right past her, fire in her dark eyes and not even concerned with the fact that she's still in pajamas and without makeup because she's so pissed about her hair. Exactly what she'd told Carlos she was sure Mal wouldn't dare to do - Mal must have been eavesdropping with magic or _something_. Whatever the case, Evie can't believe this and she will be damned if she doesn't tell Ben to fix this.

 

Her hair, her roommate, all of it.

 

She's so mad her nails have almost cut into her palms by the time she reaches Ben's dorm. She doesn't even take note of it as she angrily knocks on his door, not caring to be courteous to the early hour because, as far as she's concerned, Ben can get beauty sleep _after_ he fixes this.

 

No answer.

 

Now blue haired girl resumes pounding on the door. Says, "Ben! Get up! We need to talk!" and vaguely hopes he doesn't think she's going to break up with him or anything ridiculous like that. (She would never, her mother would have her head - or worse, give her a crisp, red apple.)

 

Still no answer.

 

This time, she yells with a knock punctuating each word, "Benjamin Florian! Get! Up! Now!"

 

Finally, Ben responds. Incoherent, but still an indication that he's finally up. He's at the door in less than a minute, a shirt pulled on inside out and his hair a wreck for once. He takes a moment to realize what's wrong and when he does, his jaw drops.

 

"Evie," he starts, blinking rapidly like he's not sure he's seeing correctly, "um, your hair -"

 

Her nostrils flare. " _Mal_ ," she seethes, "she's a _monster_."

 

Ben blinks some more, doe eyed and hazy. She thinks maybe he's searching for some positive spin on this or some other diplomatic, kingly bullshit that, any other day of the week, she would sigh at. "It, uh, it suits you..." he tries, "a little startling but... blue looks nice on you - and, and you love blue." The 'please don't yell at me or Mal' is unspoken but it makes Evie growl anyway.

 

"I also love not looking like a _delinquent_ , Ben! Can't you _do_ something, about this - about _her_?"

 

"Well... I can take you to Fairy Godmother to see what we can do about your hair but, Evie, if you pass Mal on after two days, no one will take her, please just try a little longer - I'll talk to her for you," he says, hand grabbing hold of hers. His eyes are desperate and pleading and Evie has always been too nice for her own good. According to her mother, at least.

 

Relenting, she sighs. "Fine. But if she does anything else like this again, I want her gone."

 

The king scoops her into a hug and she already regrets agreeing to give Mal another chance.

 

She regrets even more when Fairy Godmother finds she can't seem to undo what Mal did to her hair and she has to walk into her first period History class with her hair the color of a blueberry and three kids (Jay, Chad, and Lonnie - of all people) snicker. Mal is, officially, dead to her. Of course, she has no idea just _how_ dead Mal is going to be to her. Not yet, at least.

 

Because this? This is nothing compared to the havoc Hurricane Mal is about to wreak on her life.


	2. no more queens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when you give a villain kid two weeks of detention for hexing you? 
> 
> Does she A) wait a month to retaliate, B) use that time to figure out exactly what will get on your nerves without violating rules, C) do everything in her power to psyche you out during that plotting time, D) decide to run for senior class president just to steal the spot from you, or E) all of the above?

The punishment Mal gets for turning Evie's hair blue is, initially, going to be a week's worth of detention. And then she informs them that she added a protection charm to the spell and can't undo it. (She figures she could if she tried hard enough but that's not going to happen any time soon.) As an extra punishment for the fact that Evie has to walk around with blue hair until the spell fades ( _if_ it does), the week of detention is doubled and Mal is told that if anything like this happens again, she'll get put on in school suspension. Or, something like that.

 

Truth be told, Mal doesn't really pay attention after she's assigned detention. Two weeks, just because she made a girl's hair blue. It's not like Evie doesn't deserve it and - frankly, Mal thinks she looks better like that. Maybe that's just because she's a villain but, really, she thinks she deserves a reward if anything for giving the prissy girl a nice makeover.

 

But instead she got this so now she's sitting in the library doing some... _research_ on the laptop that Ben gave her for school. Mal has never been a tech person like de Vil's kid (and apparently she can't get him to help her because he's _good_ now or something) but she knows how to delete her history and use a private browser so she can find out what she needs to know about Evie.

 

(And the wand, because her mother is so dead set on her getting that but, really, priorities. Her mother would be proud of her for seeking out revenge anyway.)

 

It's not exactly hard to find what she needs. Evie, unsurprisingly, is not a particularly private person. Scrolling through her (very nice but very vain) Instagram alone Mal finds out way more than she wanted to know about Evie. She loves gross health foods (which Mal could've guessed just looking at her), fashion, Ben (apparently, at least, Mal thinks each of the many many photos of the couple are too posed to be sure), her mother, cheerleading, being royalty, and her ridiculous amount of friends but especially Princess Audrey (Sleeping Beauty's daughter, Mal isn't sure if she wants to meet her or not), Li Lonnie (who is apparently some chick named Mulan's daughter, Mal will have to Google her), and Carlos de Vil (who, it turns out, likes dogs as pets very much).

 

The useful things, of course, are buried beneath all of that. Evie, it seems, has an acquired taste for being on the student council. She's been her class president three years in a row now, apparently. When Mal asks around, she'll find out Evie was also actively apart of student council in middle school and has been her class president for a consecutive six years and that, naturally, this is all very important to her. Or her mother. Same thing, Mal supposes.

 

"Well," she grins, "maybe it's time Auradon Prep elected a new president." She's talking to herself which probably qualifies as absurd moreso than villainous but Mal is too excited by the revenge plot to care.

 

She spends the entirety of her first detention writing down campaign ideas and drafting ways to ruin things that, according to the student body she'd interrogated and a very braggy Facebook page, Evie has apparently put in place for this hell hole. By the time her hour of suffering is up, Mal has designed a rough sketch for her poster and settled on "no more queens, vive la démocratie" as her slogan. Her ideas for ruining Evie's accomplishments are all vague at best but she can cross that bridge when she gets there.

 

For now, all Mal wants is to take this from the princess. Besides, she'll probably steal the wand shortly after stealing this from Evie's well moisturized and manicured hands and thus won't have to worry about it. It's foolproof. Totally, 100% foolproof.

 

She thinks.

 

 

A week and a half after serving her detentions (and researching and drafting her poster and barely even acknowledging Evie unless she _has_ to), Ben sits with her at lunch. Not with his girlfriend or any of her friends. With her. _Mal_. The girl everyone knows is responsible for _his girlfriend's_ blue hair. Who is also the daughter of the woman who cursed aforementioned girlfriend's best friend's mother.

 

Mal is, of course, incredibly suspicious of his motives, even knowing that he probably really _is_ that annoyingly good and nice. Of course she is, she grew up on the isle because of people like him, and on the isle, you don't exactly learn to trust. You do, however, learn that everyone has ulterior motives and that you should be suspicious of them.

 

"Hi," he starts, his fingers nervously tapping at the table next to his tray.

 

Mal cocks an eyebrow. "Hi?" she doesn't greet, it's more an accusation in a weird sort of way.

 

"You looked lonely. Nobody's been mean to you or anything, right? I just - I haven't really seen you hang out with anyone and Evie says she hasn't either so... I just wanted to make sure you were... alright," he says. It's so... good. Again, Mal knows it's probably genuine because, from what she's observed, that's what Ben is like, but she knows there must be something underneath it. Something he gets out of all of this.

 

She pushes her tray forward, feeling suddenly very un-hungry (or maybe just used to the hunger, growing up on the isle that _his father_ put her on, there was never much to eat). "Well, I'm not," she says, voice blunt. And then - of course, she could use Ben. He could be an ally of sorts. She's sure he would vouch for her no matter what she did (as long as it wasn't too drastic or... magical) after the hair incident, but it couldn't hurt to get the insurance. "Actually..." she starts and Ben's face lights up, "nobody's been... _bad_ , but nobody's been welcoming either, you know?"

 

Ben is eating this up already, of course. Unlike her, he doesn't know to be suspicious of motives and strategy. "Is there anything I can do to help, Mal? I'm sure I could get you involved in sports or - or clubs, something, so you could meet people. Or I could ask Evie and Audrey to introduce you to people, Lonnie would probably like you - oh, do you know Carlos and Jay?" he's rambling again and she's not sure he even realizes it.

 

"Ben," she stops him, hand lightly pushing against his chest, "I just... I want to be involved. You know? I was thinking maybe... running for student council?" She makes sure to raise the pitch of her voice and stick a wobbling bottom lip out, insecurely. Wants Ben to think of her as vulnerable right now. He can know the truth about Mal once she has her revenge - and the wand.

 

His eyes light up even more, if that's possible. "Oh! That would be great! You and Evie could be a great team, you just got off to a bad start and I'm sure she'd love working with you - she's been class president since the sixth grade and she's running for that again, of course. Were there any positions you were interested in, the social chair would be good for meeting new people but I think you might be a great treasurer as well or -"

 

"Ben! I was actually thinking I might run for president," she interrupts once more.

 

At this, Ben's face falls. "Oh... um... would that be the best idea? Since you got off so rough with Evie I thought..."

 

The bottom lip is out and wobbling again at this. Green eyes are cast downwards. Mal is sure she must look like a kicked puppy, if that puppy were also a dragon. "Right. Of course. Why would you trust a villain kid to be your class president - don't worry, Ben, it was dumb anyway, I should just -"

 

"That's not what I meant!" he blurts out. Kids are staring now. Much quieter this time, Ben tries again, "I - I just - I think you would be a great president, I'm just worried about Evie, she might get mad if you run against her, you know? She's had this so long and it means so much to her."

 

"If she's really had it so long, maybe it's time someone else took it," Mal says, her chest puffing out proudly and her voice too loud for a conversation just between them. More kids are staring. She doesn't know how she feels about being the center of attention like this but she does know she wants more than anything right now to get Evie back for what she did. Even louder, she says, "Ben, kids like you and Evie have been in charge of things way too long. It's time someone who wasn't born with a silver spoon got to be in charge. People like you and Evie put kids like me on that island - they left us to starve! To _die_ , Ben! Maybe it's different for you, because you grew up calling the guy who did _that_ daddy, but I learned the hard way why you can't trust royalty! Besides! The senior class president is supposed to represent the people. Has anyone ever even ran against Evie?" She knows the answer, not since the seventh grade. Not much of an election, if you ask her. "That's not democracy! That's monarchy! You can't just keep giving her what she wants because she's a princess!"

 

By now, people are whispering in the cafeteria. As Mal steps up onto the table, kicking her tray aside, she catches a glimpse of Evie, much easier to spot now that her hair is blue, whispering furiously to Audrey and looking ready to kill. She bites down a smirk as she begins her chant. "No more queens! No more queens!"

 

The cafeteria is quick to join her, fists raised with each syllable and feet stomping down. Ben is lost, completely unable to control the situation as Evie glares daggers at him, mouthing, "you're the king! Do something!"

 

"Okay! Stop chanting! I'll - I'll help you register as a candidate!"

 

Grinning like the dragon she is, Mal lets out a proud exclamation of, "vive la démocratie!" She's sure the apparent spontaneity of the slogan will get people even more excited by it. And, judging by the roar of applause and the amount of kids on their feet, she was right.

 

 

After classes are over and Ben is done trying to get a very pissed off Evie to talk to him ("sorry, Benny-boo, you messed up, Eves and I are gonna go hang out with Chad and Carlos until she cools down," Audrey had said before putting her sunglasses on and sashaying off with her best friend on arm), he sits with Mal once more. This time, in the library.

 

They go over Mal's grades (currently she's got a 3.1 GPA, nothing special but good enough for her to run and she doesn't care to do better), the procedures of the campaign, all that boring junk Mal's been prepping for since she was assigned her detentions. Not that she tells Ben that though. No, she wants him to think she's as wide eyed as she could possibly be for someone who grew up on the isle.

 

She may, or may not, be sure to tell him the worst bits of the isle. That don't include anything too much or that makes Mal afraid of her mother. Or what she knows about Carlos and Jay - and Evie. Or, her mother. No, that she knows she needs to save as ammunition for a later time.

 

Once they're done going over all the boring, boring rules of this, Ben whips out his phone. No doubt he's going to grovel for Evie's forgiveness. Mal almost snickers at the thought. Instead, she utilizes it.

 

"So," she starts, making sure to chew the word curiously, "is this like... a normal thing? Evie blowing you off for, uh, _Chad_."

 

Ben pauses completely, his shoulders a bit tense. "Chad Charming. He... they... they dated. Well - kinda? Chad used her for... stuff," he says, voice quiet.

 

"Sex stuff?" Mal's eyebrows shoots up. She hadn't expected anyone on Auradon to get down and dirty. They all seemed so clean cut. Then again, considering Evie's mother, maybe she shouldn't be surprised.

 

"... I think. I don't - I walked in on her... _pleasuring_ him once. Before we started going out - after they broke up. He's... my friend - kind of. But he's not good for her. He thinks she's just a pretty face, you know?" Mal doesn't know because as far as she can tell, that's all Evie is, but she nods anyway. "Anyway, she knows I don't like her hanging around him - not because I think she would cheat. Evie wouldn't do that, but... I don't like the way he treats her. So... yeah, sometimes when we fight she hangs out with him. Never alone though, she doesn't trust him either, thinks he's a - a... " Ben trails off like he's embarrassed to say it.

 

"Dick?" Mal offers, "he sounds like it. Even his name, _Chad_."

 

Ben laughs at that. "Yeah. He kind of is. Evie's mirror said - uh, that he was the biggest..." doe eyes look nervously to her.

 

"Dick," Mal repeats, voice fonder. It's somewhat genuine, Ben is at least... tolerable, she's decided. Even if he is way too nice.

 

"In the land," the king finishes.

 

A laugh escapes Mal's mouth before she realizes - mirror. "Evie has a magic mirror? Like her mother's?"

 

The look that crosses Ben's face can only be described as _oh shit_ and Mal is pretty sure people aren't supposed to know that. Or at least, Mal isn't supposed to know that. When he speaks, her suspicions are confirmed. "Oh - crap, Mal you aren't supposed to know that - I mean, it's not... Evie doesn't like people knowing. Magic... um, here it's not really... smiled upon. It's fine for little stuff, like the Chad thing but... she..."

 

"Relax, Ben. It's fine. Princess is ashamed of her _gift_ ," Mal scoffs slightly, "you don't owe me an explanation. Might wanna send that text now though. Before Chad gets her alone. Catch you later." She leaves him paranoid and calling Evie instead of texting. Mal's pretty sure that's a victory.

 

The first stone into the lake that is Evie Grimhilde's life has been cast. Or, really, the first couple of stones. From the way kids look at her in the halls as she walks back to their shared dorm, Mal is pretty sure she's created more than a couple of ripples.

 

 

Evie gets home just before curfew very disheveled. Not in the post sex way, either. She huffs loudly and with hate as she throws her backpack down on her bed, not seeming to notice the purple haired girl sketching quietly on the other bed. Mal smirks as Evie flings herself down onto the bed, face down and about to scream.

 

"Had a nice date with Benny-boo, Princess?" she asks, voice lower and cheekier than normal.

 

The blue haired girl sits up so fast Mal is surprised she doesn't get whiplash. She smooths out the wrinkles in her skirt and takes a moment to breathe deeply. And then, poised as ever, Evie says very flatly, " _fuck_ you."

 

Mal grins toothily at that response, "no thanks, you're not my type."

 

At that, Evie's face turns a startling red. She's quick to recompose herself though, taking her shoes off and pulling her feet onto her bed and her laptop into her lap. Her typing is furious and faster than should be legal.

 

Less nosy, more smart, Mal angles her neck so she can see the screen without moving too loudly and startling Evie into creating some type of privacy. Evie's first stop is Twitter (Mal will be sure to make one of those once the other girl stops doing something that pertains her interest). She scrolls through her timeline quickly and with efficiency but Mal catches a few key words in tweets. Boring, average shit but also her name, the word iconic, and more than a few things about the election and her speech. And then Evie is typing into the search bar, @apexposed. Mal makes a mental note of that handle as the page loads.

 

When it does, Mal's mouth drops open.

Evie growls once she's read it and she grabs her phone to text someone - likely Audrey - before selecting tweets and replies.

After reading that one, Mal can't help but laugh. Evie sends a sharp glare her way for it and slams her laptop shut, taking to her phone.

 

"Aww," Mal fakes a pout, "c'mon, Princess, even you must've thought seeing Chad get his ass roasted was funny."

 

 Evie throws a pillow right at her face but other than that doesn't reply.

 

"Let me guess, you're offended that you aren't my type. Princess, it's not personal, I just like my girls less... _good_. The blue hair really works for me though, just ask Uma," she says, smirk growing as Evie's grip on her phone tightens, "y'know, if you ditched the twink and accepted who your mom is, you could be really, really -"

 

Another pillow is flung into her face. "I'm not gay, you - you _lesbo_! And Ben's not a twink, he's my _soulmate_ , thank you very much!"

 

Mal's brow shoots up at that response, "tut, tut, Princess, homophobia doesn't look good on you."

 

Evie almost shakes at that and, now satisfied, Mal opens up her laptop. Goes to Twitter and creates an account (using the student email provided by this dump). She's more than a little mad that @mal is taken but settles for @maleficentjr and writes her password down on the back of her hand. She leaves her about simple ("villain kid. #nomorequeens #viveladémocratie"), uses a picture Ben had made her take with him during her tour, and follows everyone important (which, so far, is just Ben, who follows back almost immediately, the gossip account, and, just to spite her, the princess herself).

 

Her first tweet is, of course, just enough to stir the pot a little more without making anything erupt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if youre reading this comment bc i love validation and also bc that shout out to umal was nice


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